FBR production monitoring: the factory camera deadlines, October to December 2026

The deadlines

Toll and contract manufacturers are covered too. State media reported on 12 October that the Prime Minister wants production monitoring running in every identified manufacturing sector by 31 December 2026.

Tea, appliances, paper, ghee and leather: 31 October

STGO 27 of 7 October 2026 covers five sectors: packaged tea; household electronics (fridges, deep freezers, washing machines, TVs and ACs); paper and paperboard; edible oil and ghee; and leather, both tanneries and synthetic leather. Its first date was 15 October. An FBR letter of 21 October moved it to 31 October 2026.

• What: IP cameras and a network video recorder on each production line, with storage, backup power and internet.
• Where: the factory entry and exit, a full view of each production hall, the start and end of each line, each packing station and the loading bay.
• From whom: only one of FBR's four authorised vendors (Obsidian Technologies, Tollink Pakistan, ISSM Labelling Solutions and Authentik). The vendor supplies, installs, tests and maintains it, and you pay the vendor.
• Footage: kept for at least two months. FBR can watch live and recorded footage whenever it asks.
• Your duties: keep the cameras fixed and on, report any failure within one hour, and give FBR 30 days' notice of a new product, brand or line change.

Spinning mills: 15 November

STGO 30 of 23 October 2026 tells every textile spinning mill to add cameras where loose, opened or other non-bale fibre is fed. That covers cotton, polyester, viscose, wool and acrylic, at:

• bale openers and hopper feeders where loose fibre is fed by hand;
• weighing and blending feeders;
• blow room lines for man-made fibre;
• waste openers and recycling lines; and
• mixing and laydown areas.

The approved vendors' video analytics must count the fibre fed and send the data to FBR's Central Control Unit in real time. This is on top of the cotton bale monitoring under STGO 08 of 2025, which stays in force. The deadline is 15 November 2026.

Steel mills: 30 December

STGO 29 of 19 October 2026 covers melters, re-rollers and composite units, including toll and contract manufacturers. Every facility and every active line must be monitored by 30 December 2026, in up to four stages:

1. Billets and ingots counted as they are cast, or as they go into the reheating furnace.
2. Sizes checked at the rolling mill's finishing stand.
3. Finished bars and sections counted at the cooling bed, with their weight worked out.
4. Dispatch weight taken from the weighbridge and matched against what the line produced.

Steel can't leave the premises unless it was monitored and, where it applies, its dispatch was reconciled. Manual records, your own cameras or a stand-alone weighbridge don't count. The authorised vendors are ISSM Labelling Solutions and Obsidian.

Why your invoices must now match your production

For steel, FBR says in so many words what the data is for: it will be matched with your returns, invoices, stock, electricity use and weighbridge records. The cameras count what you make. Your e-invoices show FBR what you sold.

So every dispatch needs a sales tax invoice that reaches FBR, with the right quantity, the right HS code and the right buyer. A gap between the two is the first thing FBR will see. Read more for steel, textile and manufacturing and ERP businesses.

eInvoicePro sends each sales tax invoice to FBR as you make it, in bulk from a sheet, or straight from your ERP through our API. See the FBR digital invoicing software.

FAQs

Which factories must install FBR cameras by 31 October 2026? Makers of packaged tea, household electronics (fridges, deep freezers, washing machines, TVs and ACs), paper and paperboard, edible oil and ghee, and leather, including tanneries and synthetic leather, under STGO 27 of 2026. FBR moved the date from 15 October to 31 October.

When must steel mills install production monitoring? By 30 December 2026, under STGO 29 of 2026, on every facility and every active production line.

Who pays for the FBR camera system? The manufacturer pays the authorised vendor, who supplies, installs, tests and maintains it.

Can we use our own CCTV? No. The system must come from one of FBR's authorised vendors. For steel, STGO 29 says manual records, private cameras or a stand-alone weighbridge don't count.

Can FBR see the footage? Yes. Under STGO 27, FBR has on-demand remote access to live and recorded footage, which must be kept for at least two months.

What if we miss the deadline? Goods made without a working system can't leave the premises, and failing to install or tampering with the system can lead to penal action under the Sales Tax Act.

Related reading: FBR invoicing for steel, FBR invoicing for textile and FBR's faceless audit.